[398] 5.22 Fracture

With Claudius dead and his soul now rotting up hell, the battlefield quiets quickly.  The robotic army remains inactive, the drones standing motionlessly and nonresponsively.  I can cut them down and they offer no resistance.  One goes into my [Inventory] for future analysis, while I work to scrap the others as quickly as possible, before some other agent of Apeiron can reactivate them and cause more chaos.

Sadly, my attempts at due diligence provide me with no more Experience for my trouble.  Come to think of it, looking back, none of the other automatons gave me any Experience, either.  A troubling fact, assuming their use is in wide-scale production, and proof of the hypocrisy of this group which calls itself Apeiron.  If they really cared about improving the levels of humans here on Earth, they wouldn’t fight with drones with which fighting provides no opportunity for advancement.  Unless, of course, my level is simply too high to gain any Experience from these hunks of so much scrap iron.

“Impressive work, Seraphina.”  I look to the side to see Svana wading through the robotic soldiers.  “Though your newly-acquired taste in fashion is somewhat suspect.”

“I’m still not getting rid of the bandana.  It’s grown on me too much these past few years.”

“It wasn’t the bandana I was talking about.  Changing the subject, the General has some words for you.  He requests your presence back in the conference room at once.”

“I have another matter that requires my urgent attention.  Please let him know that I will report to him when that matter is complete.”

“I must beg your reconsideration on his behalf.”

I glare.  “As other military personnel have learned, I am not a military personnel.  I do not answer to the general’s orders, nor to his schedule.  I suggest he adjust his expectations accordingly if he wants my assistance going forward.”

“I will…  Convey your refusal.  I cannot guarantee what will happen going forward as a result.”

“Thank you, Svana.  If I may ask, how is Svylune?”

“They are still recovering after their overuse of their technique last night.”

I’m about to mention how Chloe might be able to heal them more quickly.  Had I been aware that that was a possibility and had the Skill at the time, I could have used [Rewrite Fate] to restore them to their previous, unencumbered state.  But even thinking about Chloe and the coldness she gave me earlier fills me with a dread that shakes me far more than Claudius’ Skills ever did.

“I wish them a speedy recovery.  And I will find the good general as soon as I’m finished with my more immediate task.”  I remove my armored coating from my face and offer a polite smile and a wave before I vanish into subspace and follow the veil back into the central barrier maintenance chamber.

Chloe is there, sweating but healthy, sighing as she checks over the injured and fatigued soldiers whom she’s accepted as her patients, for however brief of a time.  She steps between cots with a practiced grace and a swiftness which belies her small stature.  Despite standing shorter than nearly all of the soldiers, her presence commands an air of authority.  She commands the healer corps with a measured tone, coordinating people even as another part of her mind is stitching together complex healing spells.

She’s impressive as all hell working in her element.  I’m a little saddened that I’ve never really gotten a chance to see her like this.  Medical privacy demands as much— she refuses to tell me more than the most generic information about her day.  From the horror stories about gargantuan lawsuits some hospital systems have been subjected to in the days before the System…  I can understand her trepidation on the subject.

All the while, I stay against the wall.  I don’t say a word, I don’t make a sound, and I certainly don’t risk her anger by calling out to her, mentally or otherwise.  Instead, I’m just going to continue to wait right here, out of the way, until she is ready to have that talk.  And yes, I probably could have had the conversation with the general while she continues to work, but we are still a team..  Even if I maybe have not done the greatest of jobs at remembering that these past couple of days.

It’s another half an hour before Chloe so much as looks at me.  Our eyes meet for a brief moment, then she turns away.  There’s no more anger on her face.  Instead, the sullen, disappointed eyes hurt me even more than a biting remark ever could have.  I lower my head as she turns back around, though I do notice at least that her engagement ring is still on her finger, matching my own.  My eye gazes down toward it, and the ruby that continues to sparkle even in the dim lights that have not yet fully returned to their previous brightness.

“Is now a bad time?” General Souire asks.

I turn to him.  His posture is immaculate, but his demeanor is far more relaxed than I would have expected.

“I apologize for asking you to wait on our behalf.  Chloe is in the middle of taking care of your soldiers, and when she is finished, she and I will have to have a conversation of our own before we are prepared to speak regarding more formal matters.”

“Considering everything you and Miss Chloe have done on behalf of myself and my station, I’m hardly in the position to make any demands.  If anything, I’m not confident I have the ability to refuse 

“I understand.”  He pauses.  “Miss Seraphina, I also want to extend you an apology, as well as one to Miss Chloe when she has a moment.  While I hope you can understand our situation, it was… a regrettable decision on my part to order your detention earlier.  We had received intelligence of the threat impending and I made the decision, given that contingency, to isolate you until the matter had been addressed.”

“I did only what I felt was best in the situation.”  I pause.  “Even if, with the benefit of hindsight, I realize that there were better paths I could have followed.”

“That’s the best any of us can do.  Even though we may now wield powers that would have been considered divine years ago, that does not mean that we are gods.  Nor can we be expected to be held to the same standards.”

“Some ethicists would disagree.  They would argue that because we have the power that can cause so much devastation, we must necessarily be held to a superhuman standard, out of a principle of fairness and harm reduction.  I don’t know the nature of your country’s political and legal systems, but I know back in the States, a number of sympathetic— or unsympathetic, depending on your point of view— judges are starting to push those principles forward as a matter of law.”

“I’ve never understood why your country still clings to the whims of common law.  Personally, I think it should be the politicians who decide what the law is, not a bunch of unelected blackcoats.”

“I don’t pretend to understand the whims of the so-called ‘justice’ system.  I just point the sharp end of my stick toward the monsters who threaten my home and those I care about.  What pieces may fall afterwards, that’s several levels above my paygrade.”

The general chuckles.  “I came here because I was under the impression from Svana that you were going to require a more delicate touch.  Right now, if it is alright with you, and for purposes of protocol, I am willing to consider you a visiting dignitary here on official government business, with all the diplomatic immunity that such a post would entail.”

“You are surprisingly flexible for a military commander.  I was expecting you to come in issuing demands rather than requests, and insist that I subserviate myself to your command after saving your sorry asses from one of the Enemy’s agents.”

“I am vaguely aware of your exploits, your personality, and your general position regarding authority and being entreated by the same.  If I were to do as you suggest, citing protocol, I don’t harbor any delusions that I wouldn’t be joining the previous man in whatever afterlife I deserve.”

I just shrug.

“If I may make one request, did you get the name of the agent in question?”

“Claudius, [Dimensional Sniper].”

General Souire’s eyes go wide.  “I hope that you’re not shitting me.  Today’s been too long of a day for that kind of bullshit.”

“That’s what he called himself.  The System identified him as a [Dimensional Sniper] and a [Walker of the Precipice] at Level 98 after I cut him down.  I’m not sure how much more proof I can offer.”

“Well, I’d like to say ‘Praise Be’ and give you a round of applause for your service to the world for that.  Unfortunately, I’m sure that pretty much as soon as they find out one of their high-ranking operatives is dead, they are going to do something rash to try to regain their strategic position.  I will make sure my soldiers and intelligence agents are aware of the threat, and I’ll begin devising countermeasures for whatever measures they might have.”

“I see.  If I may make a request, can quarters appropriate for visiting dignitaries be arranged for the two of us?  We have not had much of an opportunity to regroup since our arrival, and have matters we wish to discuss in confidence.”  Depending on how much he knows about us, he might realize that we don’t actually need a private space to do that much.  I do, however, very much want some time away from prying eyes.  A shower would also be absolutely incredible if we can get one.

“I will have preparations made at once.  And thank you again, Seraphina.  We all owe you both a large debt of gratitude.”

It’s at this time that Chloe finally walks directly past the two of us.  I bid the general farewell and follow my fiancée down a nearby hallway and into a small room that’s empty save for a small table and a couple of chairs.  I close the door behind me and take a seat.  Chloe stares at the far wall, still not so much as acknowledging me as I take a seat and await my just punishment for earlier.

Several more minutes pass.  She doesn’t say a word.  I don’t dare break the silence myself.  Chloe takes a deep breath.  I lower my head in contrition.  More time passes.  It’s probably only a minute or two, but it feels like it might as well be an eternity.

“Do you know why I am upset with you, Sera?”

“I did a poor job of treating you as a partner and an equal.  I was faced with an enemy I wasn’t confident I could defeat.  Instead of us facing him together as I should have offered, I tried to fight him alone.  In doing so, I disrespected your efforts and your own pride as a warrior.”

“And, if you knew all of that, why did you insist?”

“Because I was scared.  Because I got so terrified that he would be able to hurt you and there wouldn’t be anything I could do to stop him from doing so.  Because…  And it’s no excuse on its own, but having chosen new classes earlier today and still not being fully adjusted to how they make me think and adjust my mindset, I feel a stronger than normal compulsion to protect people from threats.  Even if I can understand that they don’t need to be protected and aren’t weak and don’t want to just stand behind a vanguard like she’s still some sort of flower who will wilt if someone looks at her funny.”

Chloe sits down.  We make eye contact.  Despite our… fracture, I still can’t see Chloe as anything other than the most beautiful woman in the world, or as anyone other than the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with.  And I’ll do whatever it takes to properly earn her forgiveness.

The entire complex shakes.  Warning sirens blare as red lights begin spiraling in stroboscopic patterns.  A moment later, frantic knocking erupts.  The general’s voice is muffled by the steel wall, but I can still vaguely hear him requesting entry.  I turn to Chloe, and though she looks displeased, she acquiesces.

I open the door.  General Souire emerges in a cold sweat.  He turns to me, then to Chloe, nodding at both of us.

“I beg your forgiveness, but we all need your help.  Nine intercontinental missiles, some of which were likely armed with nuclear warheads, have just been launched from a military base in western Ukraine.  We may be one of the targets, and I suspect that at least a couple of them may be headed across the Atlantic.  Will you lend us your assistance?”

I turn to Chloe.  She doesn’t hesitate.  She’s back on her feet and following the general to central command as soldiers and personnel scramble throughout the compound.  I follow, ready to give all that I have to prevent armageddon.